DWTS Blog |

OCTOBER, 2009

The Charleston - The Roaring Twenties

October 16, 2009The Charleston was one of four new dances on DWTS last show along with the Two-Step, Bolero and Lambada. When Judge Bruno exclaimed to Mellisa Joan Hart that she was a "Flapper Girl" and Judge Len sensed she had the right "Channel, Energy and Spirit" it was on to get to the bottom of this super fast dance.

The Charleston dance became popular after appearing along with the song, "The Charleston," by James P. Johnson in the Broadway musical Runnin' Wild in 1923. Although the origins of the dance are obscure, the dance has been traced back to blacks who lived on an island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina (which is why the dance is called "Charleston"). The Charleston dance had been performed in black communities since 1903, but did not become internationally popular until the musical debuted in 1923. The music for the Charleston is ragtime jazz, in quick 4/4 time with syncopated rhythms. The dance uses both swaying arms and the fast movement of the feet. To begin the dance, one first moves the right foot back one step and then kicks backwards with the left foot while the right arm moves forward. Then both feet and arms are replaced to the start position and the right foot kicks forwards while the right arm moves backwards. This is done with a little hop in between steps. The Charleston dance became extremely popular in the 1920s, especially with Flappers. The dance could be done by oneself, with a partner, or in a group.

Mario Lopez a fan of Shakira

October 15th, 2009Sharika unleashed her brand new song "She Wolf" during the DWTS results show on Tuesday. One her fans is actor Mario Lopez. Lopez and dance partner Karina Smirnoff where on DWTS during season 3 in the fall of 2006. Mario came in 2nd place overall losing to Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke even though his scores averaged higher overall.

"Those hips don't lie," Lopez says about the Colombian pop beauty. But Lopez's Dancing with the Stars judges are equally complementary about his moves. Judge Bruno Tonioli calls him "Super Mario" because of his hip-swiveling moves, while Carrie Ann Inaba tells PEOPLE, he's "very sexy, very spicy" and "tapped into his athleticism and sensuality."

DWTS Patrick Swayze Tribute

October 14, 2009DWTS honors the passing up Patrick Swayze. He died Sept 14, 2009 at the age of 57 after his determined battle to defeat pancreatic cancer. Patrick made a guest appearance on Dancing's inaugral U.S. season in 2005, teaching friend and fellow actor John O'Hurley a few dance moves in rehearsal. Swayze showed up at the end of season 1 to offer his continued support.

“We have some very fond memories of [the late actor] coming to help us our when we were a tiny little show way back when,” Dancing’s executive producer Conrad Green says.

The Donny Osmond Checklist:#1. Pre-dancing video of Donny in practice, and somehow this week's dance is more daunting than anything he's done before. A lot of people say this, but it's not true with Donny because he's been performing since he was a fetus.

#2. The performance. It's always high-energy and pretty darn good. When you IMDb Donny to see how old he is, you find out he's 52 and you are like "No f******* way!" This is how Donny stakes his claim on your heart.

#3. Donny hates the idea of offending anyone in America. Case in point, after he displayed excessive love towards Bruno, he disclaimed it the following week. Donny, bubby, just suck it up and let America know you are ok with having fun and playing around. No reason to go homophobic on us.

#4. Donny is seriously cheesy. But the cheesiness doesn't bother me as much as when he's disingenuous. See #3.

#5. After getting the judges scores and sucking up to them a bit, he profusely thanks Kim and tells America what a wonderful teacher she is. Someone needs to do a YouTube mashup of all the sucking up that Donny does during the few moments he gets to talk on camera.

So, there you have it. And despite it all, I still love him. He really is a great performer and he puts everything into it every single week. Did I mention he's 52? No f******* way!

Samantha Harris on Broadway as Roxy

October 13, 2009

So, this morning when I woke up I felt unsettled after watching Dancing with the Stars last night. Something was amiss in the universe, but I couldn't put my finger on it. And then I remembered a conversation between Samantha Harris and Kelly Osbourne:

Samantha: "And you said you want to play Roxy on Broadway in Chicago. So, do you think you passed your audition here?"

Kelly: "I don't know, you played Roxy, you tell me."

Zounds! Samantha Harris played Roxy? This stirs up all kinds of questions. Did she wear a blonde wig? Did she sing and dance? Was it on Broadway like the REAL Broadway? I had a hard time picturing it, but lucky for us, the CBS Early Show did a story on this topic. Check it out: